This invention concerns metering systems in which a meter upon being updated is conditioned for dispensing a predetermined sum or quantity of articles or is conditioned for dispensing postage stamps or imprinting validation stamps up to a predetermined sum of money. A typical specific example of such metering systems is the well known postage meter which from time to time needs to be recharged with a sum of money in order to dispense validation of variable amounts of money. When the supply of money or credit available is exhausted, the meter is blocked from further operation. The meter can be charged with a new sum of money prior to reaching its fully exhausted condition and, thus, remains operable while a sum of money, or credit, is available. Meters of the type described above are well known and some of the arrangements for meters include means for charging the meter without physically bringing the meter to the Post Office. The latter arrangements are shown, for example, in my U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,255,439 "Postage Metering System" dated June 7, 1966; 3,428,948 "Postage Metering System" dated Feb. 18, 1969; 3,501,744 "Postage Metering System Having Signal Conditioning Means" dated Mar. 17, 1970, and in the patent to McFiggins et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,792,446 "Remote Postage Meter Resetting Method" dated Feb. 12, 1974. Other pertinent art referring to the meter itself using combination locks or requiring predetermined numbers for recharging the meter will be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,034,329 "Combination Lock Device" dated May 15, 1962 and 3,664,231 "Locking Device" dated May 23, 1972.
With respect to U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,664,231 and 3,792,446, the meter includes a storage tape having numbers to be used in predetermined sequence, the tape being stored in the meter and the user of the meter who is a subscriber to the service, is informed of a currently applicable number which correlates with the respective number on the tape. Responsive to the existence of correlation between the number set on the lock and the current number on the storage tape, the meter can be updated or recharged and the next successive number on the tape becomes applicable to the following recharging operation. The user is advised of the next number to be used for charging the meter.
The present invention omits the need for a storage tape in the meter and employs instead uniquely coded code bearing means in combination with a computer for updating the meter.
Other significant differences and advantages of the present invention over the prior art will be more clearly apparent from the description hereinafter.